Amazon Invests in Turkish E-Commerce Site Ciceksepeti.com

On-line giant Amazon has expanded in Istanbul by taking a stake in the Turkish e-commerce retailer Ciceksepeti.com. According to the Turkish website Webrazzi, Amazon has been eyeing Anatolia for a while. The site also reports that Belgian-based Hummingbird Ventures was also involved in the deal. Financial terms were not disclosed. Hummingbird was an early backer of Ciceksepeti.com and is actively looking at Turkish start-ups.

Ciceksepeti, the "flower basket" in Turkish, founded by Emre Aydin in 2001, sells flowers and gifts that can be shipped anywhere in Turkey. In 2011 Aydin was selected by Endeavor to join its group of "high-impact" entrepreneurs in emerging markets. According to Endeavor, Ciceksepeti.com gets 15,000 hits per day, with approximately 2,000 orders placed. The e-commerce company has more than 150 partner flower shops.

While the deal has yet to pass Turkish government approval, Amazon's investment into Ciceksepeti, while a first, is the second "transaction" in Turkey. Hiref, a Turkish luxury handcraft design retailer, became the first non-EU company to market on Amazon.co.uk in 2009.

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